Exploring the Open-Living Trend

Open living trends suggest so many different things to different people. For one, traditional architects and civil engineers from times gone by generally feel open-living buildings are the work of some of the laziest modern day architects, so too some interior designers who effectively feel that too much interior decorative work is left to them with open plan buildings.

On the flip-side – some interior designers love having what is essentially a massive blank canvass with which to work their magic uninhibited by awkward spaces, while some architects and civil engineers revere the work of those who design open-plans. This is because open-plan buildings pose a little bit more of a challenge structurally in that reinforcements pretty much have to be worked into the overall structure as opposed to being able to distribute the pressure with the likes of a wall running right through the middle of the room, for example. So it could very well be more challenging to design an open plan building.

In any case, what we’re here to discuss today is the trend itself of open living. It seems to be quite the trend these days and you rarely get newly constructed buildings that are sectioned off in the way that some of the older buildings were styled. This applies both to residential and corporate buildings.

The essence of open-living

The essence of open living is to facilitate interaction between the people occupying the interior spaces as well as an interaction between the interior spaces themselves. In the domestic environment, when everyone comes out of their own personal spaces such as their bedrooms and from the bathroom, interactions with other residents in the house are inevitable. You cannot go to the living room without walking past whoever is in the kitchen, for example and you can’t go outside unnoticed.

In the corporate space it’s more about co-working and being able to interact with your colleagues without having to walk down the corridor to someone else’s office and first have to knock on their door. In addition to typical communal office space, there would be a sectioned off boardroom area which is perhaps sound-proof, but everything going on inside is visible to everyone since it’s likely glass that’s used to section it off.

Harnessing the elements

It would otherwise be pretty challenging and expensive for example to heat up the big interior space mass that is something like the great room of an open-plan house, so that’s why open living is dominated by buildings that harness the elements. This could be achieved through something like windows that double up as solar panels so that some natural power from the sun’s rays is harvested for functions such as heating, while during the warmer days simply opening up the building would provide adequate cooling in more of a natural way since open-living buildings are typically designed to make great use of naturally cooled air that flows in strategically.

Above all else, open living is meant to be dynamic so that you can quite drastically change your interior space without having to do too much in the way of costly redecoration.

Published by: Maisy G

I am skilled in all areas of beauty treatments and in helping clients improve their personal appearance. Having a proven ability to ensure the efficient and profitable running of a beauty salon and I have decided to start blogging about the things I love, beauty, lifestyle, home and everything in between. I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy writing it. xxx